shiv91's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I'm a big fan of these types of kid spy books. The Alex Rider series is by far my favourite but as I'm already a fan of Charlie Higson, I thought I'd try this one.
Now, I'm not personally a fan of James Bond as an adult. I always found him rather boring, so I wasn't expecting to like this.
In the beginning, I wasn't particularly enjoying it. I kept comparing it to Alex Rider, where the action starts from page 1. Whereas with this, it was a rather slow start.
He's also not as confident as Alex Rider and definitely doesn't have the same skills he possesses in terms of fighting skills. I do like seeing the growth of Bond throughout the book and the story really ramped up when he left Eton for his holidays with his Aunt.
All in all, an enjoyable read and I plan on reading the others in the series.
lheto's review against another edition
4.0
Written in a captivating way, this is James Bond's childhood and already you can see parallels between the kid and the secret agent he will eventually become. Prepare for a page-turner.
conspiracyxiv's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
sofs25's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
fhm1998's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
jjarthur's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
elfyn's review against another edition
I think that this book was really good, though it took me way longer than usual to read. I think that the author's style isn't as captivating as I thought, though I loved the story line.
iffer's review against another edition
3.0
I find the idea of exploring young James Bond intriguing, so the parts that I enjoyed most were actually the ones in which James spent time with his family doing ordinary things. This book is somewhat of a hybrid, a slow development of James at Eton at the beginning, followed by action and chase at the end. I didn't love the school exposition, since it seemed pretty standard/stereotypical of a boarding school experience, and it was a little difficult for me to suspend my disbelief at the villain. While I didn't expect this to be high literature, I found it unsatisfying, since it contained neither a super fun action romp, nor compelling characters.